JPH10187401A - Output controller, output control method and storage medium stored with computer-readable program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To visually confirm output images of respective pages which are transferred by plating output images based upon platting information on respective pages read out of a storage means and thereby preview-displaying the output images at a display part together with transfer information. SOLUTION: When a host computer HC1 performs printing operation by a menu choice of application, platting data on the application are passed to a print drive through an OS and temporality saved there as a spool file in a storage device MM such as an H drive. After the data are all received from the application, data are read in from the spool file and converted into commands of a printer, which are transmitted to a printer PR1 or PR2 to perform printing operation. In a dialog box for print status display at the display part 4, a preview of a document name, the number of print pages, the number of copies, and corresponding pages, etc., is displayed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an output control for converting predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program on a host computer into print information that can be analyzed by a predetermined output device and controlling the transfer. The present invention relates to an apparatus, an output control method, and a storage medium storing a computer-readable program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printing system in which print information is output to a printing apparatus by a printer driver stored in a storage medium of a host computer, when image data created by an application is output to a printer,
The printer driver converts the drawing command sent from the operating system (OS) into an output control command of the printer and outputs the command to the printer.

In such a case, designation of a print job such as a page number to be printed and the number of copies is performed by a dialog box provided by a printer driver.
The printer driver displays a dialog box having input items such as paper size, type, print page range, number of copies, and print quality, and the user inputs these items.

After the input is completed by the user and the dialog box is closed, the application receives information necessary for the print job from the printer driver via the OS and refers to the information to draw the drawing data of the page to be printed on the OS. Send to

[0005] A printer driver receives drawing data of an application via an OS, and temporarily spools drawing information to a disk (storage medium). After receiving all the drawing data from the application and spooling it to the disk, the printer driver reads the data from the spool file and performs various processing related to printing, such as converting RGB data on the monitor to CMYK data on the printer ink. Finally, the data is converted into a printer command, and the drawing data is output to the printer. The printer executes a command sent from the printer driver to perform printing.

In the above processing, the printer driver converts one page, one page of drawing data obtained from the application into a printer command, transfers the command to the printer, and outputs all pages. It takes time. Therefore, the printer driver displays the page number currently being processed and the ratio of the processing on the page in a dialog box on the screen of the monitor to show the user.

When the user wants to interrupt printing at a desired page or to know the page currently being processed and printed, the user associates the page number displayed by the printer driver with the data created by the application. be able to.

[0008]

However, since the page number and the data created by the user are not always stored in association with each other, usually, the same document that has already been trial printed is checked, There was a need to examine the page.

The page number displayed by a printer driver or the like is normally counted from the first page in printing order, and thus may not correspond to the page number of a document created by an application. For example, even when printing from page “11” to page “20” is designated, the page number display of the printer driver starts from “1” and ends with “10”. In this case, the user needs to calculate a page number that associates the first page indicated by the printer driver with the eleventh page of the application.

[0010] The above problem may not be a serious problem because the document output from the printer may be checked if the printer is in the immediate vicinity of the host computer. In a printing system environment shared by users, since the printer itself is not always located near the host computer, checking the document to be printed is not necessarily a solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the first to eighth inventions according to the present invention is to provide a drawing which is created when a predetermined application is executed. Information is managed in page units, and in parallel with the printing process for the drawing information, in addition to the page management information of the drawing information of the page currently being processed and the page number of the number of copies,
By displaying a preview of the output image of the page currently being transferred, it is easy to visually compare the page number of the page being transferred with the printed document on the screen of the transfer source. An object of the present invention is to provide an output control device, an output control method, and a storage medium storing a computer-readable program that can easily grasp the current data transfer progress while checking.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program is converted into print information that can be analyzed by a predetermined output device. An output control device that controls transfer to an output device, wherein the storage device stores the drawing information in page units, and converts the drawing information of each page stored in the storage device into the output information to the output device. When transferring,
Control means for drawing an output image based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage means and sequentially displaying a preview together with transfer information on a display unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means generates a reduced output image to be displayed on the display unit based on the drawing information of each page stored in the storage means. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the control means causes the display unit to display the output image and the data transfer progress for one page in parallel.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means causes the display unit to display the output image, the page management information being transferred, and the data transfer progress for one page in parallel. Things.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the output device is a printing device that performs printing based on the output information.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the output device comprises a facsimile device for outputting an image based on the output information.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program is stored in a storage unit for each page, and the drawing information stored in the storage unit is read out. An output control method for converting data into output information for a predetermined output device and transferring data,
A first display step of displaying a status screen for displaying a transfer progress state of the output information on a display unit, and converting the drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit to the output information, to the output device A second display step of drawing an output image based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage unit and sequentially displaying a preview together with the transfer information on the display unit when transferring the data to the storage unit.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program is stored in a storage unit for each page, and the drawing information stored in the storage unit is read out. A storage medium storing a computer-readable program that converts data into output information for a predetermined output device and transfers the data, wherein a status screen for displaying a transfer progress status of the output information is displayed on a display unit. (1) an output based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage unit when the drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit is converted into the output information and transferred to the output device. A second method of drawing an image and sequentially displaying a preview along with transfer information on a display unit
And a computer-readable program including a display step of:

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing system to which an output control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

In FIG. 1, HC1 is a host computer to which printers PR1 and PR2 are connected via communication means 7 such as Ethernet and SCSI.

Each of the printers PR1 and PR2 includes a printer controller and an engine (for example, a laser printer engine or an ink jet engine) and outputs images, characters, graphics, and the like to recording media of various sizes.

In the host computer HC1, reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU, whose system operation is controlled by an OS stored in a ROM 2 or a RAM 3, and various application programs read from an FD drive, an HD drive (not shown), and the like. , PR2 corresponding to the printer PR1 and PR2, the printer driver converts the output information created by the application program into output commands corresponding to the printers PR1 and PR2.
1, PR2. Reference numeral 6 denotes a system bus.
5, and MM are connected to be accessible.

Each of the printers PR1 and PR2 has a printer controller 12, and controls a printer engine based on a printer command obtained from the communication means 7 to perform printing. The printer controller 12 has a CPU 8 and R
It is controlled by the program of OM10. The printer controller 12 has a RAM 9, which is
Is used as a work area for executing a program for controlling the engine. A buffer area for receiving a print command from the communication unit 7 is also secured on the RAM 9. Reference numeral 11 denotes a system bus, which connects the above 8 to 10 in an accessible manner.

It is assumed that printing is performed by the host computer HC1. When a print job is executed by selecting a menu of the application, the drawing data on the application becomes O
It is passed to the printer driver via S. The printer driver temporarily saves the drawing data of the application as a spool file in a storage device MM such as an HD drive.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a spool file stored in the storage device MM shown in FIG. The drawing data is managed in page units.

As shown in the figure, the offset 13 of the data having the page search data 14 is stored in a certain location of the spool file. In the page search data 14, the total number of pages, the print start page number indicating which page to start next, and the offset of the page drawing data indicating where each page drawing data is located are stored as information. CPU1 on host computer HC1
Reads the page search data offset 13, obtains the page search data 14 from the offset 13, and can access the print data of each page.

After receiving all the data from the application, the printer driver running on the host computer HC1 reads the data from the spool file and converts it into a command of the printer designated or selected. The data is transmitted to the printer PR1 or the printer PR2 to execute printing.

Hereinafter, the print preview display processing in the print control apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a print document edited by the application of the host computer HC1 shown in FIG. 1. For example, when a print document is edited into five pages, the print document is stored as the spool file shown in FIG. It is stored in the device MM.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a dialog box for displaying a print status displayed on the display unit 4 shown in FIG. 1. The print page shown in FIG. Corresponds to the case where the status of print processing is displayed.

In the figure, reference numeral 46 denotes a document name, which is managed in the print information of the spool file shown in FIG. 2 and corresponds to the document name specified for the designated print document. Reference numeral 47 denotes the number of print pages, which indicates that the third page is currently being processed as numerical data, and changes according to the progress of the print processing.

Numeral 48 denotes the number of copies, and the document name 46
Corresponds to the case where the designated number of copies, for example, the second copy is displayed. Reference numeral 49 denotes a bar for instructing the progress of the printing process. The bar indicates the progress of the printing process, for example, the degree of processing for each page. Reference numeral 50 denotes a preview, which is displayed after being developed based on the drawing data of each page shown in FIG. 2, for example, a state where a preview of the drawing data of the third page shown in FIG. 3 is currently displayed. Corresponding to

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the third page is printed when printing a document having a plurality of pages as shown in FIG. 3, but a bar indicating the progress of the printing process in the page being printed is shown. Reference numeral 49 denotes a state in which nothing is displayed at the beginning of printing the page, and extends to the right as printing progresses. A preview 50 of the corresponding page is displayed on the left side of the dialog. The user can visually grasp the output image of the page currently being processed by the printer driver by looking at the preview 50.

Hereinafter, the first data processing of the print control apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are flow charts showing an example of a first data processing procedure of the print control apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. Corresponds to processing. Note that (1) to (26) indicate each step.

In step (1), preparations for printing a document, such as spool file open processing, are performed. In step (2), a counter for the number of pages to be printed is initialized to "1". ) Reads out information on printing from the spool file shown in FIG.
In step (4), the total number of pages to be printed is checked. If it is determined that there are pages to be printed, the counter of the number of copies is initialized to "1" in step (5).

Next, in step (6), an initial display process of a print status dialog to be displayed on a display about a printing status described later with reference to FIG. 7 is performed. As a result, a text (a character string such as a document name 46, a print page 47, and the number of copies 48) in the dialog, a document name and a bar 4 indicating the progress status are shown in FIG.
A portion that does not change even when printing progresses (the area where the preview 50 is displayed), such as the outer frame 9, is drawn and displayed on the display unit 4.

In step (7), the number of pages in the print status dialog is updated, and in step (8), a print status dialog box is displayed on the display unit 4 as shown in FIG. Drawing and display are performed according to the procedure described later with reference to FIG.

Subsequently, in step (9), the number of copies to be displayed in the print status dialog is updated, and in step (10), the state of the bar 49 indicating the processing progress in the page being printed is initialized. .

Next, in step (11), preparations for printing the page, such as securing a work memory area in the RAM 3, are performed. In step (12), a request for canceling the printing process by the user (cancel event ) Is checked, and if it is determined that a cancel request has been made, the process proceeds to step (24) to stop the printing process.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (12) that there is no cancel request, the flow advances to step (13) to check whether the receiving buffer of the printer is sufficiently empty. Is the step (1)
Proceeding to 6), if it is determined that there is a vacancy, proceeding to step (14), the drawing data read from the spool file stored in the storage device MM is converted into a command of the printer, and in step (15) Send to printer.

Next, in step (16), the percentage of the printing process for one page that has been completed is calculated, the length of the printing progress bar 49 is updated, and step (17) is performed.
In step (25), it is checked whether an error such as a paper jam or ink out of the printer has occurred. If it is determined that an error has occurred, the process proceeds to step (24) to execute a recovery process from the error. In step (26), a page printing end process is performed, and in step (26), the printing process is interrupted and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (17) that no error has occurred, 1 is determined in step (18).
It is determined whether or not all data for the page has been transferred to the printer. If it is determined that not all of the data has been transferred, the process returns to step (12).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (18) that all data for one page has been transferred to the printer, in step (19), processing for ending printing of the page, such as releasing the working memory area, is performed. In step (20), the copy counter is incremented.
It is determined in 1) whether or not the data processing for the designated number of copies has been completed. If it is determined that printing for all the number of copies has not been completed, the process returns to step (9) and repeats the processing.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (21) that the data of the specified number of copies has been transferred to the printer, the page number counter is incremented in step (22), and all the pages are counted in step (23). It is determined whether or not the printing process has been completed. If it is determined that there is still a page to be printed, the process returns to step (7) and the same process is repeated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (23) that all printing has been completed, the flow advances to step (26) to perform document printing end processing such as closing of a spool file, and print processing is performed by the printer driver. finish.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a detailed procedure of an initial display processing routine of the print status dialog shown in FIG. 5. The print status displayed on a display device such as a display connected to the host computer is provided to the user. Corresponds to the process displayed in the dialog box to indicate. Note that (1) to (3) indicate each step.

In FIG. 1, details are shown in FIG. 4, but texts in the dialog (character strings such as the document name 46, print page 47, number of copies 48, etc.) and an outer frame of a bar 49 indicating the document name and the progress are shown. An initialization process is performed for drawing and displaying, on the display unit 4, a portion that has not been changed (the area where the preview 50 is displayed) even if printing progresses (1), and then the spool stored in the storage device MM. The document name data is obtained from the file, set to the document name 46 (2), a status dialog box is displayed on the display unit 4 (3), and the process ends.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a detailed procedure of a print status dialog display processing routine shown in FIG. Note that (1) and (2) indicate each step.

In step (1), the drawing data of the page to be printed is obtained from the spool file stored in the storage device MM. In step (2), the drawing data is issued to the OS, and the drawing data is reduced to a required size. The processing is performed and drawn as a preview 50 at a predetermined place in the dialog, and the processing is terminated.

Thus, even in an environment in which a printing system is configured such that the installation position of the printer and the host that has issued the print start instruction are separated, the output image of the page designated for printing and the page information can be provided to the user. In this case, it is possible to visually specify the output progress, and it is possible to greatly reduce the work of checking the output progress by the user.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment,
Host computer HC1 connected on the network
In the environment where the printing system is configured by the printer PR1 and the plurality of printers PR1 and PR2, the print output progress of the print document composed of a plurality of pages specified by the host computer HC1 is controlled as a preview together with the character information. However, the present invention can be applied not only to a printer but also to a facsimile machine of a destination connected via a communication line. Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing system to which an output control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention can be applied. The image processing system is configured by a facsimile having an interface connectable to a host computer. To respond.

In FIG. 9, HC2 is a host computer, which is connected to the facsimile machine FAX1 via communication means 57 such as a serial cable or Ethernet.

In the host computer HC2, 51
Denotes a CPU, an OS stored in a ROM 52 or a RAM 53
Controls the operation of the system.
Various application programs read from the storage device MM such as a D drive and an HD drive are executed by a facsimile device (FAX control program) corresponding to the facsimile device FAX1, and the facsimile device outputs output information created by the application program. It is converted into an output command corresponding to FAX 1 and output via the communication means 57. 56 system bus, 51
-55, MM are connected to be accessible.

The facsimile machine FAX1 has the RS-42
2. It has an interface such as Ethernet, and is controlled by a command from the host computer HC2.
The facsimile controller 62 communicates with another facsimile machine from the facsimile transmission unit 63 based on the command obtained from the communication unit 57 and transmits image data.

The FAX controller 62 has a CPU 58 and is controlled by a program stored in the ROM 60. The FAX controller 62 has a RAM 59, which is used as a work area for the CPU 58 to execute a program for creating image data and transferring the image data to another FAX. Facsimile machine FAX1 is F
The AX communication path 64 communicates with another facsimile. Reference numeral 61 denotes a system bus which connects the above 58 to 60 so as to be accessible.

When the facsimile machine FAX1 outputs data by the host computer HC2, the facsimile driver executed on the host computer HC2 behaves in the same manner as the printer driver for the printer. That is, when a printing operation is performed by the application by selecting a menu or the like, the drawing data of the application is transferred to the facsimile driver via the OS. The facsimile driver saves the drawing data of the application in a storage device MM such as an HD driver connected to the host computer HC2 as a spool file. The format of the spool file is the same as the format shown in the first embodiment (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a facsimile output processing status dialog displayed on the display unit 54 shown in FIG. 9, and the same components as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The difference from FIG. 4 is that there is no indication of the number of copies. This is usually a facsimile transmission,
This is because multiple copies are not output.

Hereinafter, the second data processing of the print control apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are flow charts showing an example of the second data processing procedure of the print control apparatus according to the present invention. The facsimile by the facsimile driver after all the drawing data from the application are saved in the spool file. This corresponds to output processing for the device FAX1. In addition, (1) to (22) indicate each step.

In step (1), preparation processing for document output such as spool file open processing is performed. In step (2), the output page counter is initialized to "1". ) Reads out information about output from the spool file shown in FIG.
In step (4), the total number of pages to be output is checked. If it is determined that there is a page to be output, an initial display process of an output status dialog displayed on the display unit 54 is performed in step (5). As a result, although the details are shown in FIG. 10, the text (character strings such as the document name 46 and the print page 47) in the dialog box and the outer frame of the document name and the bar 49 indicating the progress are changed even if the output progresses. The portion without the area (the area where the preview 50 is displayed) is displayed on the display unit 54.
Draw on top.

In step (6), the number of pages in the output status dialog is updated, and in step (7), the output status dialog box is displayed on the display unit 54, and the preview 50 is drawn and displayed.

Subsequently, in step (8), the state of the FAX output processing bar 49 (see FIG. 10) indicating the processing progress in the page being output is initialized.

Next, in step (9), preparation processing for outputting the page, such as securing a work memory area in the RAM 53, is performed. In step (10), a request for canceling the output processing by the user (cancel event ) Is checked, and if it is determined that there is a cancel request, the process proceeds to step (20) to stop the output process.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (10) that there is no cancellation request, the flow advances to step (11) to check whether the reception buffer of the facsimile apparatus is sufficiently free. In step (14), if it is determined that there is a vacancy,
Proceeding to step (12), the drawing data read from the spool file stored in the storage device MM is converted into a command of the facsimile device FAX1, and the process proceeds to step (1).
In 3), the data is transmitted to the facsimile machine FAX1.

Next, in step (14), the percentage of the output processing of one page is completed, the length of the bar 49 is updated, and in step (15), the facsimile machine FAX1 has a paper jam or runs out of ink. It is checked whether or not an error has occurred, and if it is determined that an error has occurred, the process proceeds to step (20), where recovery processing from the error is executed, and in step (21), a page output end process is performed. Then, in step (22), the output process is interrupted and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (15) that no error has occurred, 1 is determined in step (16).
It is determined whether or not all the data for the page has been transferred to the facsimile machine FAX1, and if it is determined that not all of the data has been transferred, the process returns to step (10).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (16) that all the data for one page has been transferred to the facsimile machine FAX1, then in step (17) the end processing of page output such as release of the working memory area Is performed, the page number counter is incremented in step (18), it is determined in step (19) whether output processing of all pages has been completed, and if it is determined that there is still a page to be output, step Returning to (6), the same processing is repeated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (19) that all output has been completed, the process proceeds to step (22), where document output such as closing a spool file is performed, and output processing is performed by the facsimile driver. finish.

As a result, a facsimile output processing status dialog as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the display unit 54, and it is possible to clearly indicate to the user which page is currently being output to the facsimile. In the case of a facsimile, unlike an output from a normal printer, an image is output to another facsimile located at a remote place connected by the facsimile communication path 64, so that it is impossible to visually confirm the output result. In this regard, the user can visually check the image data currently being transferred to the facsimile machine FAX1 by viewing the preview 50 in FIG.

In each of the embodiments, the case where the output images are sequentially previewed is described. However, the preview display of the output images is controlled for each mode such as only the even pages / only the odd pages / only the designated pages. You may.

In each embodiment, the case where the entire output image is sequentially preview-displayed has been described. However, the preview display may be controlled only at a designated portion of the output image.

Further, in each embodiment, the case where the whole output image is sequentially preview-displayed has been described.
The output image may be configured to control the preview display of two pages in the facing pages.

Hereinafter, correspondence between each embodiment and each means of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention and the operation thereof will be described with reference to FIGS.

A first aspect of the present invention is an output control device that converts predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program into print information that can be analyzed by a predetermined output device, and controls transfer to the output device. A storage unit (the storage device MM shown in FIGS. 1 and 9) for storing the drawing information in page units; and converting the drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit into the output information and outputting the output information. Control means for drawing an output image based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage means and sequentially displaying a preview together with the transfer information on a display unit when transferring to the apparatus (C shown in FIG. 1);
PU1 or the CPU 51 shown in FIG. 9 executes and controls a print control program or a control program stored in the storage device MM), and draws information (such as GDI or the like) of each page stored in the storage device MM. When the drawing command is converted to the output information (print command) and transferred to the output device, the CPU 1 or the CPU 51 draws and displays an output image based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage device MM. Since the preview is sequentially displayed on the unit 4 or the display unit 54 together with the transfer information, the output image of each page sequentially transferred can be visually confirmed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means (the CPU 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the CPU 51 shown in FIG. 9 executes and executes a print control program or a control program stored in a storage device MM) controls the storage means. Since the reduced output image to be displayed on the display unit 4 or the display unit 54 is generated based on the page-edited output information stored in the page, the entire image of the output image of each page sequentially transferred is visually displayed. Can be confirmed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the control means (the CPU 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the CPU 51 shown in FIG. 9 executes and executes a print control program or a control program stored in the storage device MM) controls the display unit. 4 or display unit 5
4, the output image and the data transfer progress for one page are displayed in parallel as a bar 49 (see FIGS. 4 and 10), so that the output image of each page sequentially transferred is constantly changing. The progress of data transfer for one page can be visually confirmed at the same time.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means (the CPU 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the CPU 51 shown in FIG. 9 executes and executes a print control program or a control program stored in the storage device MM) controls the display unit. 4 or display unit 5
4, the output image, the page management information being transferred, and the progress of data transfer for one page are displayed in parallel, so that the output image of each page sequentially transferred, the accompanying page management information, and the instantaneous data are displayed. And the changing data transfer progress of one page can be visually confirmed at the same time.

According to a fifth aspect, the output device is a printing device (printer PR1, PR1) that performs printing based on the output information.
PR2), the print image of each page sequentially transferred to the printing apparatus can be visually confirmed.

In a sixth aspect, the output device is a facsimile device FAX1 for outputting an image based on the output information.
Thus, the output image of each page sequentially transferred to the facsimile apparatus can be visually confirmed.

In each embodiment, the present invention can be applied even if the drawing information is compressed according to a predetermined compression data format.

The correspondence between this embodiment and the respective steps of the seventh and eighth inventions and the operation thereof will be described below with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program is stored in a storage unit (storage device MM) in page units, and the drawing information stored in the storage unit is read out. Output control method for converting the output information to output information for a predetermined output device (printer PR1, PR2, facsimile FAX1, etc.) and transferring the data, wherein a status screen for displaying the transfer progress status of the output information is displayed on a display unit. First display step for display (Step (6) in FIG. 5, details of Step (1) in FIG. 7)
To (3)), based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage unit when the drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit is converted to the output information and transferred to the output device. A second display step (step (8) in FIG. 5, in which the output image is drawn and sequentially preview-displayed together with the transfer information on the display unit;
(2)) are sequentially transferred by the CPU 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the CPU 51 shown in FIG. 9 by executing a print control program (program driver) or a facsimile control program (facsimile driver) stored in the storage device MM. It is possible to visually confirm the output image (print image) of each page.

In the eighth invention, predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program is stored in a storage unit (storage device MM) in page units, and the drawing information stored in the storage unit is read. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer-readable program for converting the output information into output information for a predetermined output device (eg, a printer PR1, PR2, facsimile FAX 1, etc.) and transferring the data, and displays a transfer progress status of the output information. Display process for displaying a status screen for displaying on the display unit (step (6) in FIG. 5, details of steps (1) to (1) in FIG. 7)
(3)) when converting the drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit into the output information and transferring it to the output device,
A second display step (step (8) in FIG. 5, in which the output image based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage unit is drawn and sequentially displayed on the display unit together with the transfer information. Step 8 (1),
And (2)) stored in a storage medium, the program being readable by a computer. That is,
A program code corresponding to the steps shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, 11, and 12 is stored in an external storage medium or an internal storage resource to be described later, and the CPU 1 or the CPU 51 reads out and executes the program code from the storage medium storing the program code. This embodiment is also included in the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the configuration of a data processing program readable by the output control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to a memory map shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a memory map of a storage medium for storing various data processing programs readable by the output control device according to the present invention.

Although not shown, information for managing a group of programs stored in the storage medium, for example, version information, a creator, etc. are also stored, and information dependent on the OS or the like on the program reading side, for example, a program is stored in the storage medium. An icon or the like for identification display may also be stored.

Further, data dependent on various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, a program for installing various programs on a computer or a program for decompressing a program to be installed when the program to be installed is compressed may be stored.

The functions shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 11, and FIG. 12 in this embodiment may be executed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. And in that case, CD-RO
The present invention is applicable even when a group of information including a program is supplied to an output device from a storage medium such as an M, a flash memory, an FD, or an external storage medium via a network.

As described above, the storage medium storing the program code of the software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to the system or the apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MP) of the system or the apparatus is supplied.
It goes without saying that the object of the present invention is also achieved when U) reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

Examples of a storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, and C
DR, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, RO
M, EEPROM and the like can be used.

The functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented when the computer executes the readout program codes, and the OS (Operating System) running on the computer is executed based on the instructions of the program codes. ) And the like perform part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, The CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

[0099]

As described above, the first embodiment according to the present invention is described.
According to the invention, when the drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit is converted into the output information and transferred to the output device, the control unit reads the drawing information of each page read from the storage unit. Is output and the preview image is sequentially displayed on the display unit together with the transfer information, so that the output image of each page sequentially transferred can be visually confirmed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means generates a reduced output image to be displayed on the display section based on the page-edited output information stored in the storage means. It is possible to visually check the overall image of the output image of each page.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the control means causes the display unit to display the output image and the data transfer progress of one page in parallel, so that the output image of each page sequentially transferred is instantaneously displayed. And the changing data transfer progress of one page can be visually confirmed at the same time.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means causes the display unit to display the output image, the page management information being transferred, and the progress of data transfer for one page in parallel, so that the data is sequentially transferred. It is possible to visually confirm simultaneously the output image of each page, the associated page management information, and the data transfer progress of one page that is constantly changing.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, since the output device is constituted by a printing device that performs printing based on the output information, it is possible to visually confirm a print image of each page sequentially transferred to the printing device. Can be.

In the sixth invention, the output device is constituted by a facsimile device that outputs an image based on the output information. Therefore, the output image of each page sequentially transferred to the facsimile device is visually confirmed. Can be.

According to the seventh and eighth inventions, a status screen for displaying the progress of transfer of the output information is displayed on a display unit, and the drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit is included in the output information. When converting and transferring to the output device, an output image based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage unit is drawn and sequentially displayed on the display unit as a preview together with the transfer information. The output image of the page can be visually confirmed.

Therefore, the current data transfer progress can be easily checked while visually checking the correspondence between the page number being transferred and the page of the document being printed on the screen of the transfer source. It has the effect that it can be grasped.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system to which an output control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a spool file stored in a storage device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a print document edited by an application of the host computer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a dialog box for displaying a print status displayed on the display unit illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first data processing procedure of the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first data processing procedure of the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a detailed procedure of an initial display processing routine of a print status dialog shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a detailed procedure of a print status dialog display processing routine shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system to which an output control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a facsimile output processing status dialog displayed on the display unit illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second data processing procedure of the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second data processing procedure of the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a memory map of a storage medium that stores various data processing programs that can be read by the output control device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 HC1 host computer PR1 printer PR2 printer MM storage device 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 display unit 5 input unit 8 CPU 9 RAM 10 ROM 12 printer controller

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H04N 1/32 H04N 1/387 1/387 G06F 15/72 G

Claims (8)

[Claims] An output control device configured to convert predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program into output information that can be analyzed by a predetermined output device, and to control transfer to the output device; A storage unit for storing drawing information in page units, and converting the drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit into the output information and transferring the output information to the output device. Control means for drawing an output image based on the drawing information and sequentially displaying a preview together with transfer information on a display unit. 2. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit generates a reduced output image to be displayed on the display unit based on drawing information of each page stored in the storage unit. Control device. 3. The output control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display the output image and the data transfer progress for one page in parallel. 4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the output unit displays the output image, the page management information being transferred, and the progress of data transfer for one page in parallel on the display unit. Output control device according to the above. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output device is a printing device that performs printing based on the output information.
Output control device according to the above. 6. The output control device according to claim 1, wherein the output device is a facsimile device that outputs an image based on the output information. 7. A predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program is stored in a storage unit on a page-by-page basis, and the drawing information stored in the storage unit is read and output to a predetermined output device. An output control method for converting and transferring data, comprising: a first display step of displaying a status screen for displaying a transfer progress status of the output information on a display unit; When converting drawing information into the output information and transferring the drawing information to the output device, drawing an output image based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage unit and sequentially displaying a preview together with the transfer information on a display unit. 2. An output control method, comprising: 8. A predetermined drawing information created by executing a predetermined application program is stored in a storage unit for each page, and the drawing information stored in the storage unit is read and output to a predetermined output device. A storage medium storing a computer-readable program for converting and transferring data, a first display step of displaying a status screen for displaying a progress of transfer of the output information on a display unit, When the drawing information of each page stored in the unit is converted into the output information and transferred to the output device, an output image based on the drawing information of each page read from the storage unit is drawn and displayed on the display unit. A second display step of sequentially displaying a preview together with the transfer information, and storing a computer-readable program. Body.